Four UK nationals were charged with unlawful entry after being accused of illegally crossing the border from Canada into the US
Two Liverpool men are reportedly among four British hikers who have been detained after allegedly sneaking into the United States.
The four UK nationals were charged with unlawful entry after being accused of illegally crossing the border from Canada into the US state of Maine. At least two of the men are reportedly from Liverpool. The Foreign Office confirmed it is supporting the four men.
The ECHO has approached the US Department of Homeland Security. The ECHO understand one of the men is the former owner of a Toxteth takeaway.
The Daily Mail reported another of the group, a teenager, was from Liverpool. The four allegedly entered the USA by hiking along an unpaved logging track known as the ‘Golden Road’ on April 3.
The Golden Road is a 96-mile private logging road in Maine that stretches to the Quebec border. Local paper the Bangor Daily News reports two maple sugar workers heading into Canada spotted the four men walking south and flagged down a Customs and Border Protection officer.
Border Patrol agents started driving the Golden Road about an hour later and saw fresh footprints in the soft dirt, the affidavit said. The agents then found four men trying to hide in vegetation alongside the road, according to an affidavit filed with the US District Court of Maine in Bangor on April 7.
The four men initially claimed they did not realise they had entered the US. The four carried a GoPro camera, which agents searched. According to the affidavit, the footage shows one of the men say: “I can confirm you are now on US soil,” before saying: “We just made it baby.”
The four men are now charged with one count each of Entry Without Inspection, a misdemeanour offense that carries a maximum sentence of six months in federal prison and a $5,000 fine.
All four have pleaded not guilty and are being held without bail.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting four British men arrested in the US and are in contact with local authorities.”
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